JULIET

Julia's eyes were fixed on me from the second I walked in the room.

As I sat down in the metal chair opposite her, it occurred to me that I had never really gotten a good look at the girl. I mentally berated myself at the thought. In all fairness it had been dark outside when I had first encountered Julia, and then there were more important things to worry about when we got back to the station, but still, as an investigator I really had no excuse for my negligence. Who knows, maybe I would have noticed that something was off and all of this could have been ended a whole lot sooner? I guess, as that old saying goes, 'hindsight is 20/20'.

Anyways, I took a moment to look Julia over and try and get a read on her once I sat down. You'd be surprised at how just being in the interrogation room tends to bring out people's true nature. I've been in there with suspects who just seethe with innocence or guilt. They let off this sort of vibe that's practically palpable. There's sweating or fidgeting or nervous ticks—sometimes even crying. But Julia McDermott? Nothing. She just sat there calmly, leaning forward with her elbows on the table, peering at me through her dull blonde hair that hung loosely in her face. She had steely grey eyes that betrayed no emotion.

I don't know why, but it was very unsettling.

The girl before me was a far cry from the hysterical wreck that Lassiter and I had caught outside of the Sloane's house. She was cool and collected-almost clinical. I had a feeling that the motivation behind this change was vitally important.

"Julia, I'm Detective Juliet O'Hara. We met just last night. Do you know why you're here?" I asked her nicely. I always try to be sweet at first in case I decide to bring Carlton in for a little good cop/bad cop.

Julia cocked her head to the side a bit and studied me. She had a strange look on her face, as though I'd just asked her a question in German.

"Well of course I know why I'm here," She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "This is all part of the plan."

There are very few things that Julia McDermott could possibly have said in that moment that would have surprised me more. I was lost for words, not that that was a problem because she just kept talking.

"You're a bit behind schedule, though. You've only got three hours and twenty-three minutes left." She didn't even check her watch.

How had Lassiter and I missed that this kid was so obviously messed up?

"What's the matter, Detective," Julia taunted after hardly a second, "cat got your tongue?"

Gosh this girl was seriously starting to creep me out. She was in deeper than any of us had even imagined, and she was freely admitting to it without even being questioned. What was she playing at? And I already knew that it would be a while before I would be able to let it go that Carlton and I had had her in the station hours earlier—before The Executioner had even hijacked our system—and we hadn't even questioned her.

But there had just been so much going on. There were so many people milling about with the power out and everything, and—

And that's why she had been outside of the Sloane's the night before. The realization hit me out of nowhere and it seemed so simple and obvious that I wanted to kick myself for not figuring it out earlier.

"You stole the station's security tapes, didn't you? And you got The Executioner into our video system." I said after a moment and Julia smiled triumphantly. It didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Don't be too harsh on Officer McNabs. I told him I had to use the restroom. In the darkness and with all the people milling about he had no way of knowing where I really went. Plus, you and Detective Lassiter are the ones who walked me through the door."

"Alright, Julia," I pushed forward through gritted teeth, all traces of sweetness gone, "You're clearly here for a reason, so what is it? Why are you helping The Executioner?"

"I'm here because it's part of the plan," She repeated, exasperated, "And I help The Executioner because I would do anything for him. Just as he would do anything for anyone of us."

I felt a chill go down my spine.

"Us? What do you mean 'us'?"

I saw Julia's eyes widen ever so slightly before she caught herself and reverted back to her poker face. She'd clearly gone off script for a moment there. The girl crossed her arms and leaned back, refusing to comment.

"Okay, then. You keep saying that this is all part of the plan. Care to elaborate on that? Better yet, how about you just cut to the chase and tell us where The Executioner and his hostage are? You're in trouble, Julia. Big trouble. But if you help us we can help you."

"Thanks for the offer, Detective, but I don't need your help. I've got The Executioner, and at the end of the day he's the one who will come out on top. As for the plan, I'm just here to give you your next clue."

Oh gosh, another clue. Just when it seemed like we were close to finding Shawn this kid had to send us off on another wild goose chase.

I sighed heavily. "Okay what's the clue?"

"Footloose."

I stared at Julia blankly. "That's it."

She smiled at me. "Yep."

Footloose? How was that supposed to help us find Shawn? Frustrated and sensing that I'd get no more from Julia, I pushed away from the table and stood up.

"Another officer will be in here shortly to escort you to a temporary holding cell."

I was reaching for the door handle when Julia's voice stopped me.

"Oh, Detective?" I looked back at her, "Tick tock."

OooOooO

Gus, Henry, and Lassiter were all waiting for me in the hall. We all stood for a moment, stunned to silence at what had just happened.

"Well," Gus said after a second, "That was…yeah…"

"That kid is off the grid crazy," Henry agreed.

"How did we not see it before?" I burst out. "We had her right here in front of us and we let her walk out of here—worse we let her walk around here, steal surveillance footage, hack into our video system, and then walk out of here."

Lassiter just shook his head. He looked angry with himself so I didn't push the matter further.

"Footloose," Gus spoke up again, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before any of us could respond, Buzz came running down the steps from the main body of the station.

"We just lost the feed of Shawn," He told us.

"What?" Henry almost shouted, alarmed.

"Shawn was just laying there and said 'I know who you are' and then the camera was shut off." Buzz elaborated.

"Crap," Lassiter mumbled under his breath, "Spencer's big mouth is going to get him killed before that bomb has the chance. We've got to figure out this clue ASAP."

"No." I spoke up, surprising myself.

Four sets of eyes turned to stare at me.

"What?" Gus asked, clearly thinking I was crazy.

"No, we're not going to worry about this clue. Our time is running out. We're not playing his game anymore. I think it's about time that we change the rules."

OooOooO

See! I did it! And thus it is proven that nothing is more sacred than the fandom oath.

PLEASE READ THIS!: So, I'm starting to wrap this story up, and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to do it yet. By that I mean that I don't know how Shulesy/cheesy/fluffy I'm going to make it. I could really, really, REALLY use y'all's feedback. What kind of ending do y'all want? Really fluffy or a bit more downplayed? I have a pretty solid track record of honoring my readers' requests, so I'll take what you guys say seriously. Thanks so much!

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